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Everyone has a favorite color and has likely gone through what can be called a color journey throughout their life. My personal color journey started with the color red. It was my favorite because I loved the intensity and loudness of it, how it drew attention and I felt that it often reflected how I felt on the inside, very urgent and heated and passionate. Now my favorite color is purple due to its more calm and relaxed nature while still remaining vibrant and eye-catching. Statistically, the world's favorite color is blue according to one of the more recent studies that asked that question. But, color perception is as different across the world as it is from person to person. Are we really that influenced by color? How does color truly affect me? Can I use color in ways that benefit me? What does my favorite color say about me? Let's talk about all of that below! Find my quiz on what color you are embodying right at this moment to get even deeper into the colorful being that you are at the bottom of the article!
The Eyes Are a Most Colorful Thing
Our eyes act as the first processing point for a lot of the stimulation we receive and they are basically the front of your brain. All of the shapes, colors, shadows, and everything else we see gets transmitted to our brains using cells called rods (black and white seeing) and cones (color seeing). There are millions of these rods and cones that move through your retinas, located in the back of your eyes. Once the information gets coded by these rods and cones it gets sent to your brain to be dealt with and distributed from there using the complex system of neurons, brain structures, and lots more we'll get into later. It is all a complex system that works together to give us our cognition and processing abilities. After this part of the process, it breaks down further based on things like color, shape, experiences, etc. It is important to realize that part of this complex system that we experience is physiological and psychological, meaning your body can respond physically, emotionally, mentally, and hormonally to whatever color stimulus is in front of you.
Colors are processed in a few different regions of our brain, based on what we are looking at. One of the primary areas activated in the above-mentioned color processing process is the fusiform gyrus. The fusiform gyrus is also known as the occipitotemporal gyrus because it spans a large region at the base of your temporal and occipital lobes. It makes up the largest component of the ventral temporal cortex which is a processing center for visual categorization. This part of your brain takes care of what happens when you look at an object like a house and break it down as a rectangular, non-human object made up of the specific colors, figures, and shades that make up the object.
Another primary area involved in the process is the inferior temporal gyrus which spans an area near the bottom of your brain in the temporal lobe reflected on both sides. This area is believed to connect to the visual ventral stream (an information pathway from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe) using different areas within the temporal lobe for its primary processing purposes. This area is associated with the visual processing of objects, colors, places, and the identification of these things.
These two areas work together to create the series of thoughts that make up your reaction to seeing an object. When you are presented with a purple mobile home, you're brain first takes in that information in the eyes and passes it through the retinas into the back areas of your brain in the occipital and temporal lobes. From there it gets bounced into areas that break it down bit by bit, including our color processors, the fusiform gyrus, and the inferior temporal gyrus. These two work together to tell you exactly what you're looking at, what it is made up of, past experiences related to it, and how it makes you feel. Color helps make this process as fast and efficient as it is by giving our brains visual cues that are easy to break down and categorize. Think about how fast this process happens. It's so fast, you probably weren't even aware of it.
The Psychology of Color
The effects specific colors have on us are likely largely correlated to the colors' wavelength. Colors with shorter wavelengths, the cool colors, are believed to produce a calming and cooling effect. We see this with the color blue and how it can reduce blood pressure and heart rate, leading to a calmer, more relaxed state. Colors with longer wavelengths are our warms, reds, oranges, yellows. They increase our heart rates, cause stimulation in different systems of our bodies like the metabolism, and can stir up more intense emotions. Different colors evoke specific reactions in our bodies based on multiple factors like upbringing, societal influence, and personal preferences/experiences. Overall, there are base experiences shared by humans when faced with the rainbow of a spectrum that we can look to as a common psychological human experience.
Growing up, what was your mother's favorite color? Maybe you saw her wearing it a lot, or picking that color character in board games. Based on that knowledge and association you have (depending on your own experiences) you will likely associate that color with your mother and it will bring up feelings and reactions that are also associated with your mom. Our brains form connections between things based on our database of experiences lived. In my previous post, I use the example of touching a hot stove and knowing to never do it again because it hurt too much. Your brain makes similar connections in the form of neural pathways without you even realizing it or having to go through the pain of a burn. That's how colors can influence and impact us so heavily. That's why you may feel like you should call your mom when you see the pink bedspread at the mall or why you feel powerful in that red shirt you wore to that meeting you absolutely crushed.
Society plays a large role in our relationship with color as well. When you're driving along and you see red, one of your first instincts is to stop. That's what you're used to, isn't it? Stop signs are red, stop lights are red, and red flashing lights usually mean slow down at the very least and be vigilant of surroundings. This demonstrates color in a learned environment and shows that color perception and psychology can differ in the context of what and where. People in Japan are likely to picture a light blue, versus people in the US are more likely to picture a darker blue when prompted with the color blue. This further demonstrates the incredible impact society has on our perception. Color has come to play a large role in the buying and selling aspects of our world, too. Colors are used sociologically by the marketing world to further the goals, sales, and hype around their respective companies and clients. Ever noticed how lots of food chain logos utilize the color red? Interesting now that you know that red stimulates hunger. Or how banks seem to love the color green, even beyond their vaults? Experts in the marketing field use colors and color stories to tap into the minds of their consumers on a level the consumer usually isn't even aware of. By becoming aware of how these colors influence us, we can become smarter consumers and see deeper into a brand and its intentions.
Similarly, our favorite colors can say a lot about us and our intentions in the world. By associating yourself with a color, you give information about your personality that you may not even be aware of. It's not an exact science, that all people who love red are fiery and intense people who burn brightly. Throughout history, we have shown that different colors elicit different sensations, feelings, and thoughts in humans. Originally, color was used evolutionarily to draw our attention to oddities in our surroundings. As we have evolved, our relationship with colors has evolved with us into the socio-psychological power tool it is today. We are able to make loose behavioral and psychological associations by taking factors of context, neurological reaction, and society, to name a few factors, into account. Obviously, this is an incredibly subjective subject that is in the infancy of its research stages, but definitely merits further study! All of these statements are meant for fun and entertainment and have the merit of my personal research and experiences.
Color Me All Over!
Red
Often depicted as one of the most intense colors it is often associated with emotions such as passion, rage, anger, and lust. All things that generally consume our body with warmth. Red is often associated with sex and sexuality because when humans enter an arousal state, our body's temperatures start to heat up, flushing the skin tone, and causing a red complexion. This color is also often associated with courage and self-confidence due to its enflaming nature.
People who love red are often thought of as confident go-getters, energetic, and powerful. People resonate with red due to the passion and vibrancy it offers and this draws in people who feel certain with who they are and what they want to say. Red boosts self-confidence, so lovers of red know how to work a room and use the color to their advantage. People whose favorite color is red are often thought to be sexual creatures by nature, but this is a very broad and possibly problematic statement that may have little merit. Sometimes this red energy is perceived as being aggressive, intense, or domineering. Just remember to play it cool sometimes!
Orange
Heavily associated with outgoing and positive things, orange is a warm and welcoming color. It is associated with creativity and wisdom while remaining a physically comforting color, partially due to its natural occurrences in fall. It is also often associated with youth and energy, which also can cause the color to feel impatient and immature at times. As well as its ties to youth, orange is a strength-giving and motivating color.
If your favorite is orange you are likely drawn to warm and comforting things with a love for the little things in life. Orange is a color we find at gorgeous times in nature, so orange lovers may be especially fond of social situations in nature or give off a self-assured vibe that can only come from hanging out in a tree. Creativity and strength are strong suits of the color that lend to the inspiration and energizing of orange lovers. This color can sometimes come off as immature, overstimulating, and arrogant but is generally perceived positively, especially in younger generations.
Yellow
A bright, bubbly, and sunny color that can lift your mood. A hypothesis as to why we react to yellow the way we do ties our relationship to the sun to our love of the color. Yellow is a logical and grounding color that reminds us we are in the real world and to enjoy it. It evokes a social feeling and carries associations of hope, happiness, optimism, and innocence. It can also cause feelings of curiosity and spontaneity with its bright hues and shiny energy.
Yellow lovers are as outgoing and bubbly as their favorite color. They are likely to be social people while remaining practical and grounded in whatever they do. Yellow lends itself to a wisdom and clarity that comes from the logical thinking that yellow promotes. For people who have active minds, the provoking nature of yellow can be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing causing some people to pull away from the color.
Green
The natural world around us is colored in shades of green and many of our reactions to the color may relate to that. Green makes us feel grounded by instilling a feeling of security, safety, and peace. This color is viewed as harmonious, inspiring balance and feelings of abundance. This feeling of abundance can also be linked to the use of green in currency, relating green with financial stability. This can also cause lead to the color green feeling greedy and envious in situations. When we talk about a person who is green, this can mean they are inexperienced and immature which is another common association of the color. Green can also signify and give off a feeling of illness or sickness, as a lot of times when we feel unwell our complexion takes on a green tint, causing us to evolutionarily associate the color green with the physical phenomenon of sickness.
Lovers of green are calm, peaceful, and grounded in their world. They may have an affinity for nature due to the abundance of color it provides to those who draw strength and comfort. People who like green are often extra respectful as there is something about green that promotes mutual respect in humans. Just don't make yourself too green or you may be taken as inexperienced, selfish, or ill-willed.
Blue
Blue makes up a large part of the world around us being the primary color of the sky and the water. This means that it gives us a few feelings when we look at it, lots being positive. Blue encourages feelings of tranquility, relaxation, depth, and freedom due to the depths of the ocean and the endlessness of the sky. It is also a color that projects loyalty and wisdom, both often used in pop culture references. While this color can instill a sense of confidence, it can also come off as cold and uncaring. It also has multiple associations with sadness and depression, for instance, if you're feeling a little blue.
People are drawn to blue for the soothing tranquility and deepness it provides and those who love blue can often be described as deep, chill, or calming. Blue lovers often make for incredibly loyal friends with a relaxing and calm air around them. On the other side of the blue coin, blue can represent sadness and depression that can be characterized by humans who fall too deep into the shades of blues.
Purple
Purple is a complex color that is likely contributed to its red and blue undertones. The color purple is historically tied with royalty, wealth, and extravagance due to the cost of the color. Purple has grown to be associated with intuition, femininity, creativity, mystery and wisdom. It evokes feelings of creativity and inspiration in purple admirers and is often loved by creative people. It can come off as overbearing and frustrating in contexts due to the sensitive and emotional nature of the color.
Lovers of purple are often seen as creative and eccentric people with a love for mystery and imagination. It is a color that often brings out empathy and compassion, making people feel at ease with the color in the best of times. In the worst of times, purple can come off as over-emotional and extravagant due to the complex nature of the blue-red shades.
Pink
Pink has recently taken the world by storm like never before, partially thanks to its feminine, compassionate, and energizing powers. Due to the red and white that make up the shades, pink comes off as both a sensual and stimulating color while keeping an air of child-like innocence and energy about it, giving it a perfect romantic, dreamy balance. This childish energy can sometimes be a downfall of the color, leading some people to feel aggravated by it and feel a certain shallowness or detachment from reality with the color.
Pink lovers are often viewed as girly, bubbly, and outgoing. You know where the party is and you're always ready for it, especially when you're with you're girls. People associate pink lovers with a compassionate and warm personality that they feel comfortable with. On the other hand, sometimes people see pink as attention-seeking or superficial, so know your shade.
Thinking in Color
One of the best ways to use color to your advantage is to take note of how you can seamlessly incorporate it into your everyday life. How do you feel when you wear the color pink? If it makes you feel confident and feminine and in touch with your beauty, maybe it's a good choice for a first date outfit or a business meeting you want to nail. When you feel overstimulated, you may seek a darker-painted room in your home to soothe your senses and help you relax. An easy way to easily control some color in a room without the hassle of painting is tapestries. I have a few tapestries and recently while searching for my next one I found this one that I fell in love with, let me know if you love it as much as me, and send pictures if you purchase!
Being intentional with your daily color choices is an amazing way to harness the power of color for yourself. Dress yourself in the color meant to inspire the feelings you want to have for that day. Change out home decor to give off the vibe you want for the room by coordinating colors and feelings. Now that you are aware of how colors affect us as humans, start to note how they affect you. What colors relax you? What memories pop up when you look at specific colors and how does that make you feel? These are all things we can think about when thinking about how to use color to benefit us. Once you know how those colors make you feel, you can then purposefully expose yourself to them whenever you need that color pick me up that color naturally inspires in you.
If you would like me to break down each color even further and provide color-inspired playlists, leave a comment down below and sign up for my email list to be the first to get them! Check out my Instagram @angelina.all.over for a FREE art giveaway! See you All Over!
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